Salsa Tip: Try not to overwax the dance floor…

Now, we all love salsa nightclubs and events where they actually have a really nice wooden dancefloor to dance on. Don't get me wrong – I give the club owners a lot of credit of giving us that pleasure. However, I went to a club last night, and they had one of those rented wooden dancefloor. However, it was overly waxed. It was very waxed to the point where it was hard to get a grip on the floor.

So, I started thinking whether I would rather liked and unwaxed/sticky floor compared to an overly waxed floor. I came to the conclusion that even though I would like neither, I would prefer a unwaxed/sticky floor. The reason for this is as follows: a unwaxed floor, I'll feel like I have less chance to slip – even though I would have to do extra work – but as it goes, on a unwaxed floor – I can always relieve pressure on my shoes to make my feet lighter. In addition, I usually come with nice shoes to the dancefloor that are already a bit slippery, which with a not so good floor, will make every dance just right. However, on a overly waxed floor, with really slick shoes (or with leather/suede on the bottom) is a mess. Its hard to artificially add the elements of 'friction' – and hence harder to make an waxed floor, less smooth (unless you spill some drinks) for just that night.

On a overly smooth floor, it requires people to compenstate for the lack of friction – which causes a lot of people to miss timing, or screw up combos. It kind of like doing a turn on ICE, when you've always been turning on tile. I think the main thing is that I always worry someone is going to slip (even me) and someone can get injured… but its just a thought.